“To Do” or “Not to Do” - THAT is the Question!

For your to do list problems, I have a solution!

Believe me, with a husband who works full time, I have to figured out ways to get things done! (I'd been--home schooling, working nights at a store and running my own businesses for such a long time and still am home schooling and running my own business.)

I schedule in FREE TIME! When the kids wake up in the morning, I put their schoolwork up on the grease board. (A paper with their name on it would work fine; but you'll have to tell younger ones about their FREE TIME.) Then I put their to-do lists up on the board. For whatever reason, they LOVE to put that blue or red check mark on the board to show they've finished that task, LOL. I talk with them every morning before, during and after prayer time. Then, we read a story and because I've spent that early hour with them, they respect most of my wishes for the rest of the day.

I show them just when our FREE TIME is scheduled for that day and, if they finish early, they get even more free time! It's amazing how much we get done when we look at and do things as a team. I show them how fast the laundry gets done when we do it together. Now mind you, it took me a while — about a week or two — to get them on schedule. When we set our timer, especially during times when we're slacking off, it gets us pumping again because we know we'll only do this one task for 10 or 15 minutes and race back to the kitchen. We all have to be creative as WAHMs.

Sometimes our creative juices stop flowing from sheer exhaustion. That's when we should reach out for some help. For example, one day I had a lot to do, so I picked up my friend's three children to play with my three children. You wouldn't believe how much I accomplished! Take a look at my WHOLE site and you'll see what I got accomplished that day. I put up a shopping cart and got credit-card services. One of my friend's children even asked if she could watch how I did it.

If you have a VERY important task you must complete, tell the children all about it and offer a choice — they can either help you or do something else that will not disrupt you for XXX amount of time.

Copyright © 2002 Susie Glennan

Bio: Susie Glennan is the President of The Busy Woman, Inc. - DBA: The Busy Woman's Daily Planner®. She has been featured in Smart Money Magazine, The Washington Post, and others. Her products have been featured in Real Simple and Parenting Magazines, CBS Early Show, San Antonio Living Show and many more!

Susie has been happily married since 1982. She is mom to 3, Homeschool Teacher, Toastmaster, Speaker and is Author of numerous articles that have been published in magazines, across the web and at www.thebusywoman.com